Long-line gear used in commercial fishing consists of a ground-line that is laid out along the ocean floor and anchored in place at each end. Leaders with baited hooks are attached at intervals along the ground-line. The gear is left on the ocean floor for sufficient time to attract fish, then is hauled back to the boat where the fish are removed and the gear stored. Baiting of the hooks is now done either by hand or by devices available on the market.
The two main types of long-line gear in use are either fixed gear or snap gear. Both are set out simply by fixing an anchor to one end, casting it off astern and driving the boat away. In the case of fixed gear, the leaders are tied permanently to the ground-line and either are stored in long racks (8 to 12 feet) with the hooks on the rack and the ground-line hanging in bunts, or are coiled into tubs with the leaders lain across the coil. This latter procedure requires skill, and is prone to fouling.
In the case of snap gear, the leaders are attached to the ground-line with a snap of spring wire and are quickly removable. The ground-line is coiled onto a hydraulically powered reel or drum, and the leaders are stored separately on small racks or boxes, usually about 2 to 3 feet long. This system stows very compactly (perhaps 1/6 of the deck space for the same amount of gear) and is not likely to foul when setting out or picking up.
Both fixed and snap gear have been used traditionally and are baited by hand. Fixed gear always requires a crew of at least two (usually three or four) to operate it as one man removes the fish and another tends the coiling or hanging of the leaders. Snap gear can be worked single-handed.
The traditional fixed gear and snap gear hand baited systems were the rule until about 1968 when MUSTAD of Norway introduced the semi-automatic baiting "AUTOLINE" (U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,733--Godo) followed in 1969 by the MARCO semi-automatic baiting "TILINER" (U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 28,380, 3,903,632 and 3,626,630--Tison). Both systems use fixed gear only (as does Andrews--U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,359).
The MUSTAD (Godo) system uses a baiting box that aligns single pieces of precisely cut bait into the path of a hook that also is carefully aligned so that the hook pierces the bait at the strongest spot (through the spine). Although this baits the hook firmly, the heads and tails of the bait fish must be thrown away as they do not fit the aligning mechanism. This represents a loss of approximately 15% of the bait weight. Also, the precision of alignment requires a complex mechanism that is costly, is prone to breakdown, and is limited to expensive herring bait. Also, since MUSTAD uses fixed gear hung in racks, the broken leaders must be replaced each time the gear is hauled and stored, otherwise the bunts of ground-line would hang too low and get fouled. This necessitates a large crew (six to eight men) working at re-tying leaders so the gear may be properly racked, and even with several men at this job, when a large number of broken leaders are hauled in at once, the hauling must be halted to allow the crew to catch up. (Broken leaders are usual, as the fish worry and bite the leader when caught.)
MUSTAD, because of its precisely formed hook guide is limited to one hook size, and in using racks, requires a large volume of space, as the gear must be spread loosely so as not to foul when setting. Boats 65 feet long or more are needed to accomodate their standard system. Special systems are believed to have been fitted on smaller vessels of 40 feet or more.
MARCO (Tison) also uses fixed gear, but it is stored on spoked reels. This feature allows a broken leader to go unreplaced as the ground-line is coiled on the hub of the reel and the gear can be worked without fouling even with gaps in the hook spacing. However, this means the gaps where hooks are missing do not catch fish and as the gear is used over and over, more hooks would be lost continually. Therefore, the MARCO gear can be stored and set without replacing broken leaders, but it is not desirable. So the same problem as MUSTAD exists, i.e. the hauling process must be frequently halted to repair leaders.
MARCO uses a bait-box or hopper wherein the ground-line passes above the bait and the leaders hang down. They show the leader occupying a path angled downward about 30.degree. from the ground-line. In fact, this is believed impossible since the leader will follow the ground-line in a parallel path since nothing holds the free end of the leader away from the ground-line once it is into the bait.
In MARCO (as shown) the ground line (except when a float is passing above) passes through the bait-mass. The friction of the line, and the knots in it, damages the bait, reducing it to pulp, and lowers the bait's ability to stay firmly on the hooks.
Also, MARCO passes the ground-line above the bait, so that the hook follows upwards, thereby pulling against the bait towards the open top of the hopper. This results in the bait-mass giving way before the hook and reducing the pressure that is required to force the hook-point into the chunks of bait. Thus the hook breaks the surface sometimes, passing over the bait, rather than through it.
Moreover, in MARCO, the entry and exit sides of the bait box are made of metal, with a slotted entry, causing the problem of hooks catching and blunting their points. MARCO, because of its metal entry and exit to the hopper is necessarily limited to a narrow range of hook sizes.
MARCO, in using reels, is somewhat more compact than the MUSTAD system, needing a boat of 45 feet or more. However, the reels must be carried from the coiling stand to the setting stand, and they are heavy. This represents extra labour. Also because of their reel system, only two skates may be used to form a string.
Both MUSTAD and MARCO, being fixed gear and using racks or spoked reels, require a minimum crew of two men--one to control the boat and attend to the fish as they come up to the side, and another to hang the hooks in the racks or reels. This crew requirement is not related to the need for repairing gear but exists in addition to it.
Andrews (U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,359) shows only a baiting device, and nothing for hauling or storing the gear. His baiter is of a type similar to MUSTAD in that it aligns a single bait-piece into the path of a hook that is also carefully aligned, therefore requiring many moving parts that are carefully made. This unit is expensive to manufacture and maintain.
All the referenced patents use fixed gear, thereby limiting variation in hook spacing. This is because once the leaders are tied to the ground line, considerable labour would be needed to retie them at different intervals
In 1977, a new type of ground-line and leader made of monofilament was introduced to the world market. As monofilament is transparent and invisible to the fish, it catches them more efficiently and is thus becoming widely used. However it is also very stiff and springy and so is unsuitable to be hung on racks as in the MUSTAD system. The bunts would entangle with one another.